Greta and I used to participate in a small group. This group—filled with bright, young married couples—was a rather eclectic crew. We had Texans, Yankees, mid-westerners, and us, the token left-coasters.One day in group I mentioned how I had seen a funny bumper sticker that week that read, “Why Care About The Poor When You Can Be A Single-Issue Voter?” One of the members of my group said, “What do you mean?” I proceeded to explain how Christians have ignored concern for the poor while only trumpeting the issue of abortion. This group member then grew animated and began her retort with, “You know what the problem is? We already give too much to the poor.” I shan’t tell you the rest in order to protect the guilty party.
I tell this story because I’ve had politics on my mind a lot lately. I would love to see ’08 be the year that Christians finally decide to vote the whole Bible. Certainly, abortion is an important issue, but it’s one of many issues we need to take seriously. The teachings of God’s Word should influence our thinking regarding the poor, peace, the environment, and a host of other “issues.” The whole Bible—not just selected topics—should be on our minds when we go to the polling place.
The other night, Greta read an excerpt from Sojourners that mentioned that a few evangelical “leaders” were calling for the removal of the vice president of the National Association of Evangelicals because he was getting behind the fight against global warming and deviating from the apparently pre-approved platform of promoting the family—whatever that means—and the fight against abortion. Could we be a little more well-rounded? These leaders don’t represent my thinking nor my faith. My Bible simply won’t excuse such political myopia.
What issues does your faith make important to you?
